November 17, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng (9) shoots a basket against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into the 2012-13 season, Luol Deng showed his endurance by standing by his decision to not undergo surgery on his left wrist. Despite that choice, he showed he could still be efficient and handle heavy minutes.

For the second season in a row, Deng led the league in minutes played per game at 38.7. Coach Tom Thibodeau went with Deng for as long as he could because he continued to be consistent and reliable on both ends of the court. With averages of 16.3 points (team high), 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals for the regular season, it’s no wonder why Deng would be relied on so heavily. Not to mention that he also remained one of the team’s best defenders.

Honestly, there is not much to say of Deng. He did exactly what was expected of him and was voted as a reserve on the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the second year in a row. Along with that, Deng also acted as a good mentor for the up and coming Jimmy Butler. And because of Butler’s breakout season, Deng’s play may have been overlooked. This is not to say that Deng did not perform well, but he had his flaws.

For one, Deng’s field goal percentage was 42.6%. While it is not a horrible number, it certainly could be better, especially for Deng. Though, it is likely that this could have been as a result of never undergoing surgery on his wrist. Last season, his field goal percentage was 41.2%, which is understandable with the wrist injury. But with all of the time that has passed, it appears that Deng’s shooting has not been able to improve too much.

Apr 25, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng (9) dribbles the ball against Brooklyn Nets small forward Gerald Wallace (45) in the second half during game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the United Center. Chicago defeats Brooklyn 79-76. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

During the playoffs, Deng’s field goal percentage took even more of a hit. In the five games, he shot 38.1% but still managed to average 13.8 points. On the bright side, he averaged 7.6 rebounds (second best on the team), 3.8 assists, 1.0 steal, and made Brooklyn’s Gerald Wallace work on the defensive end. Deng continued to show that he knows how make an impact and do whatever is necessary to help his team win.

Sadly, Deng was only able to play in five playoff games because of spinal meningitis. Initially, Deng was out due to flu-like symptoms. It was then discovered that he went to the hospital to undergo a spinal tap to test for spinal meningitis, suffered complications, and ended up in the emergency room for an extended period of time. As a result, he lost 15 pounds and was never able to do much activity at all. However, Deng made sure to support his fellow teammates even while in the hospital.

So proud of my team man, this bed might be good luck after all. #SeeRed #Holdat instagram.com/p/Y_kt7YmvOM/

— Luol Deng (@LuolDeng9) May 7, 2013

Deng posted the tweet after the Bulls’ win to open the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, they were unable to achieve anymore wins following that. It is just too bad Chicago was not able to have Deng suit up and play for them. Even with the decrease in points, Deng’s presence surely would have been beneficial, as he has continually proved to be an efficient, reliable player.

Final Grade: A-

Apr 27, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng (9) is fouled by Brooklyn Nets power forward Reggie Evans (30) in the second half during game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the United Center. Chicago defeats Brooklyn 142-134 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Since Feb. 1, the Miami Heat are 41-2. They won 27 games in a row from Feb. 1 to March 27. LeBron James just submitted his finest statistical campaign and won his fourth MVP trophy near-unanimously.

So yeah, the Chicago Bulls are the underdogs going into their eastern conference semifinal series with the Heat. And they would be even if they had Derrick Rose back, which they almost certainly won’t. But with word breaking today that Luol Deng, who missed games six and seven of the Bulls’ last series, will miss at least game one against the Heat, Chicago’s uphill battle just got steeper.

CSN Chicago’s Aggrey Sam first reported that Deng returned to the emergency room at Rush University Hospital Sunday morning after he had been discharged Saturday afternoon. Deng had originally gone to the hospital after concerns of viral meningitis, which caused him to get a spinal tap. Unfortunately, something went wrong and Deng started losing spinal fluid, causing him to experience severe migraines and disorientation. That issue has apparently been fixed, but Deng’s return to the hospital suggests something else went wrong.

The hope is that Deng will be in Miami as of sometime Monday and would be ready to play in game two, but it’s very hard to say for sure. Until then, Marco Belinelli would start in his place, with Jimmy Butler getting the responsibility of checking LeBron. We can but hope that Dwyane Wade’s knee is bothering him enough that he can’t utterly destroy Belinelli, or else this series is gonna be over quickly.

Meanwhile, Kirk Hinrich continues to recover from the calf injury that forced him to miss games five, six and seven of last series. Nobody seems to know one way or the other when or if he’ll be back, and one assumes Nate Robinson will continue starting in his place.

Game one will start at 6 p.m. CST on Monday in Miami. TNT will have the broadcast.